What do socialist presidential candidate Eugene Debs, anarchist Emma Goldman, dance troupe Pilobolus and South African singers Ladysmith Black Mambazo have in common? Go ahead, think on that.
Give up? The answer is this: All have appeared on the stage of the Barre Opera House. Granted, the first two and last two were decades apart, but that just illustrates the long cultural history that Vermont’s Granite City has had. And that’s not even to speak of the colorful, artistically and politically rich past fostered by the granite industry itself.
But we will speak of that, because the Old Labor Hall — once the site of immigrant stoneworkers’ intense socialist gatherings — last year joined the Barre Opera House and two other local institutions as charter members of the Barre Cultural Alliance.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
